50 TESTING


Efficacy testing & vegan ethics are compatible


Angela Davies - CEO & founder, MSL Solution Providers, UK


The vegan movement has certainly gathered momentum over the past few years. So much so that, today, it could be considered far more than a trend. Around the world, an increasing number of people are making conscious decisions about the goods they purchase, and how they purchase them. The demand for ‘sustainable’, ‘cruelty-


free’, and ‘vegan’ products continues to rise – pushing brands across a variety of industries to make more ethical decisions. This has not always been the case. Until fairly recently, being vegan was considered to be a niche lifestyle choice, mostly confined to dietary requirements. However today, the growing vegan


movement is impacting more than just the food and drink industry. Over the past few years, people have become more mindful of what they put into – and onto – their bodies more than ever before, which has led to an explosion in the number of vegan beauty and personal care products on the market. Sales of vegan beauty products in the UK


grew 38% in 2018, with research from The Vegan Society finding more than half (56%) of British people have adopted vegan buying behaviours such as only purchasing vegan products and checking that their toiletries are cruelty-free.1 Furthermore, 82% of all new vegan items launched in the UK in 2020 came under the beauty category.2


Earlier this year, it was


predicted that the global vegan cosmetics industry will be worth a staggering $21.4 billion by the year 2027.3 According to recent research by Cosmetify.


com, which questioned over 2,200 women between the ages of 18 and 45, all of whom use makeup on a regular basis, 67% consider whether an item is vegan or vegetarian to be the most important criterion when shopping for skincare products. The same study found that, whilst just 9% admitted to only buying vegan products, 47% said that they do so more than they used to, making this by far the most popular rising trend in beauty. Interestingly, of the 56% of women who


purchase vegan products, 39% do not actually identify as vegan themselves. Ultimately, the study highlighted a shift in consumer lifestyle: the majority of women (62%) agreed that their conscious beauty shopping habits had significantly changed over the last five to 10 years.


PERSONAL CARE November 2021 This all points to a trend that shows no


signs of slowing down. The popularity of veganism can be attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, there is a growing awareness and desire to make conscious, ethical choices, popularised further by successful athletes and superstars like Venus Williams, Billie Eilish and Beyoncé, who all profess to be vegan. This, combined with the buying power of Gen Z and younger people, unafraid to challenge the status quo, has fuelled the demand for vegan and sustainable cosmetics that also deliver on performance. As such, brands are experimenting and


innovating to keep up with consumer demand. Not only is there an increasingly wider choice available, but they are more easily accessible than ever. Once confined to specialist health shops, they can now be found on the high street, in supermarkets or online. With growing competition in this ‘vegan


territory’, brands are striving to achieve the same standards in their vegan and non- vegan portfolio. The result is sophisticated formulations using only vegan-friendly and cruelty-free ingredients, but which also work. Many people mistakenly believe that, just because a product is labelled as vegan,


it is 100% natural. While it is certainly true that a vegan product can be all-natural and plant-derived, a product can also be vegan and still contain a large number of synthetic ingredients. Simply put, to be vegan a product must not have been tested on animals, nor contain any ingredients derived from animals.


Safety testing procedures However, this does not extend to the microbiological testing that cosmetic products must undergo in order to get to market. Despite being manufactured without any animal-derived ingredients, these products can still be tested, in laboratories, using standard culture media and neutralisers. Most are derived from animal by-products. Whilst most people are aware of animal


testing (which, of course, is banned in over 40 countries worldwide), the majority of consumers, even educated ones, have little understanding of microbiology and the mandatory testing that is carried out on the products they use every day. This testing is critical both to assure the safety of products and to meet the legal requirements under the EU Cosmetic Regulation and the US Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.


www.personalcaremagazine.com


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